Originally Posted by raydouble

It's technically called a coupler/threaded rod connector/tube nut, it's threaded in the middle. The 5/8" is the thread diameter and the 11 is threads per inch or something like that.

The outside diameter of the coupler happens to be around 24mm or whatever the hex size is.

So, no dude at Home Depot answered your question correctly.

Originally Posted by aowRS

JR,
I read that thread late last night and was thoroughly convinced that the modification to the steering column slip-joint made perfect sense.

So today, instead of doing the things I originally set out to do around the house, I dove into this project. From start to finish, it took all of 1.5 hours and was a complete & utter success! I am very pleased. The slight click/knock that I would hear backing out of my driveway as I turned is gone. A short test drive revealed that the steering simply feels more planted & solid.

I did the entire procedure on the fly, as reading the TTORA write-up made so much sense to me. The only deviation I made was to give each 'flat' of the slip joint a pretty little tack weld. If two are good, six must be better.

I think I've convinced my buddy with a '98 that this is required for his as well.


Andreas

Originally Posted by Yukon

If you read THIS thread, you know whats going on here, but if you haven't its a good read, but here is a basic rundown

Inside your steering rack, there is a guide that keeps everything moving the right way, over time it can loosen, and lead to sloppy steering, or a mysterious front end clunk. The original part was a roller on bearings, this was replaced with a sold piece in later model years.

This video shows what happens when one gets really worn out, and this is the one that I am replacing.


Its pretty simple to do, all you need is:
The parts from Toyota (read before ordering)

End sub-assembly, steering rack no. 2/ Guide sub/assembly
45504-35031-
Spring(for steering rack guide)/Spring, compression
90501-26074-
cap, Steering rack guide spring/ Cap, rack guide spring
45524-37010-
Nut(for steering rack guide spring cap/ nut
90179-48003-

Then you'll need a 5/8th inch threaded rod connector (Mine was $1.24 at home depot)
And a 24mm socket and ratchet
Also, a magnet
A dollop of grease
And lastly a big wrench


Here is the item we will be replacing, that large nut you can see on the rack.


Then your left with this, the guide itself


I used the magnet on my parts holder to pull this out, you may have a better way, but I couldn't get any pliers on it.


Then your left with a pile of old parts


Money savers listen up here, I found the old spring, and new spring, and the old guide bolt were the same sizes as the new stuff. If you want to save a bit you could probably re-use them




Then its time to put the new stuff in
Slide in the new guide


Then take the guide nut (the big ring thing) and spin it onto the new guide cap.
Then take the gude cap, and put a dollop of grease into the indent for the spring, this will help hold the spring on there while you put it in and tighten the cap


Thread the guide in by hand, it will tighten for a bit then you'll need to use your 24mm and the rod connector





I tightened it up until it was 'tight' then backed it off a quarter turn. The torque spec is (18ft.lbs then back it off 19deg), but I don't have a wrench here that will measure that low, so basically if its too lose, you will notice that the slop is still there, and too tight, you will feel it in the steering wheel. I had 1 or 2 threads left showing when it was all done.

Hopefully this helps some people! If you have any questions or I left something out feel free to PM me!

Originally Posted by avalonracing

Yup he convinced me. As well as two 8 hour (each way) trips to New England in the last 30 days.

I had a tiny bit of play in the steering. Not enough that it really bugged me about town but on the highway for hours on end it was a matter of getting sick of the constant steering correction that you do at high speed. After checking out the before and after on aowRS' I said "Let's do it".

It took about 90 minutes in total if you factor out the cleaning up of wiring harnesses, reenforcing of the air ducts and vacuuming up dozens of these Asian Stinkbugs that are all over the place. Of course that is 90 minutes when you have access to any told that you want and having a welder up and ready to go at a moments notice.

The result... All is well in the steering department. No play whatsoever and I couldn't be happier with the repair/mod.

Originally Posted by FogRunner

Just out of curiosity did you do allot of hard off roading or mostly highway driving. My 01 is at 300K and I the only thing I've done on the front end is ball joints and an alignment. My steering rack does weep a VERY small amount of fluid but its still really tight steering.

Originally Posted by raydouble

I found this in the new features section for my manual from TIS....
So in 01' is when they upgraded the guide, on the 4Runners at least.

Originally Posted by traxxi2003

Ok, These info. is what I needed to hear. But I do have a question; Since my 4Runner is a 1997 SR5, The part numbers posted above are for a trucks 00-up. Will this guide fit the rack & pinion on my truck? I'm aware of the old/new design of the guide. Thanks!!!

Originally Posted by JamesD

Yukon no offense but that rack is shot. I cannot believe the dirt and grime in that rack. It is not supposed to look like mud. Your wasting your time and money with this rack. Water and mud got inside that rack and it will only cause you more problems down the road.

James

Originally Posted by pisspoorfireman1

Will making a small adjustment on the steering rack & pinion change the toe setting?

Originally Posted by pisspoorfireman1

Will making a small adjustment on the steering rack & pinion change the toe setting?

Originally Posted by floatingkiwi

I also possibly have this issue in a 99 diesel surf. I definitely have the old style of bush - is it enough just to tighten it or is the bearing itself actually shot in general?
Matt